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I know this book is old news---but I searched for and could not find a thread on it here. I'd like comments from those who've read it. I'm almost halfway through and almost gave up after the early chapters due to Cohen's sometimes plodding academic prose style. (For the record I'm a fan and I think he does great work. His website page on jazz in Rochester, NY is a great jazz history piece you won't see elsewhere http://www.attictoys.com/). But I'm glad I hung in. The best chapter so far is Paris the Beautiful, where the Lionel Hampton (big band) tour of 1953 is examined up close. Hampton was a notorious cheapskate and there was dissent among the younger guys like Clifford Brown, Art Farmer, Gryce, Jimmy Cleveland. They weren't featured on the band, were paid badly, and were given other opportunities to record so they snuck out and did record dates. Hamp found out and was furious---causing tension again with the younger faction. But it was amazing to hear that Clifford Brown was involved in a physical confrontation with Hamp's road manager where a razor was pulled and Brownie's shoulder was dislocated. Quincy Jones pushed his shoulder back in. I never heard anything like this before, and Clifford's image is so angelic through the lore you can't imagine him being in a fight---much less with a blade involved. The book can read like a long discography (much like Pettinger's Bill Evans bio How My Heart Sings) at times, but it's a worthwhile read. Gryce the person remains elusive---but maybe that's the point: he was his music.